Katavi isn't particularly known for unusual animals, but it is the numbers of them that are staggering. Buffalo herds numbering thousands can be seen. Hippo burst out of the remaining puddles of the seasonal rivers at the end of the Dry season. Beautiful sable antelope can sometimes be found in the miombo woodland. During the Dry season, the Katuma River is packed with hippo, and crocodile can be seen in caves in the river banks. Huge herds of buffalo, zebra and impala gather with elephant and defassa waterbuck around the drying water reserves of Lake Katavi and Lake Chada. Opportunistic lion are never far from the remaining water sources, waiting for their prey to come to them. Katavi's vast ecosystem means that the lush floodplains attract a very large biomass and huge herds of wildlife. It is not uncommon to see herds of over 1000 buffalo at a time, along with large herds of topi and zebra, all grazing the plains during the day when they are less vulnerable to predators, while they prefer to return to the relative safety of the woodland at night. The abundance of prey means that predators are a planty. Katavi is home to lion, leopard, spotted hyena, cheetah, wild dog, wild cat, serval and caracal. There are over 400 bird species, giving it equal credit to bird-watchers too.